—Before the Battle—
On that moonlit night, Frey Starlight left the Shadow Sect, using his teleportation to appear directly at the borders of the ruined capital—Belgrade.
One step after another, he walked forward, casting a quiet glance over the remains of the city.
This was no longer the capital he had once known.
And even the slave who had spent so many years of his life within these walls... no longer existed.
Slowly, Frey turned his gaze toward the place Thanatos had claimed as his base.
It was easy to locate.
That area alone showed signs of movement ... after Thanatos had resurrected thousands to begin building a new army for himself.
"I see he hasn’t wasted any time... he’s already begun rebuilding his forces."
Frey spoke calmly, while his shadow stretched across the ground, shifting into another form.
The form of Nameless.
"Thanatos is called Death," Nameless said from the shadow, "because he does not die and cannot be killed. At the same time, he can resurrect the dead and turn them into his followers."
"But his resurrection only restores the body—not the soul."
"That makes it an incomplete power."
Frey nodded faintly.
"You said he reached the seventh stage of the SSS rank, didn’t you?"
Nameless gave a quiet nod in return.
"That’s right. That monster stands at the very peak."
Hearing that, Frey let out a dry laugh.
"So it won’t be easy, then... Perhaps I really will end up as one of the soldiers in his undead army after this battle."
He spoke with clear sarcasm.
Nameless watched him silently from the shadows for a moment before finally speaking.
"That will not happen. If you lose... I will intervene and end it myself."
"That’s generous of you," Frey replied lightly. "You’ve been helping me quite a lot lately. What exactly caused this change?"
Nameless slowly shook his head.
"Even if I wished to answer, I could not. I am merely a fragment of my true self."
"When I return completely... when the real Nameless returns one day—"
"Ask me that question again."
A faint smile appeared on Frey’s face after hearing that.
"Then we’ll have to survive until that day comes."
"Of course we will."
Taking a deep breath, Frey moved forward.
But he did not walk normally.
Instead, his figure flickered ... vanishing and reappearing in distant locations with each step.
"Listen carefully," Nameless said beside his ear.
"The battle you’re about to fight is extremely important. Yes, I will intervene if things turn for the worse... but you must avoid that outcome no matter what."
"You must endure."
"Use everything you have and fight as if this battle is your last."
Nameless’ words echoed beside Frey’s ear.
Frey responded with a heavy nod, his expression completely serious.
"Since you already know what you must do... there’s only one thing left."
"Go."
"And begin this battle."
"Let’s finish it, then." Frey said this with a chilling smile ... before immediately advancing and piercing through the fortress Thanatos had built for himself.
The two met quickly.
And the battle began at once.
Frey unleashed the Power of Souls, along with the Black Hole Aura that engulfed his entire body thanks to the ability of the Absolute Manipulator.
His strength surged dramatically.
It began reaching astonishing levels.
Yet one weakness still weighed heavily upon him—
He remained only at the first stage of the SSS rank.
Six full stages below his opponent.
As the two exchanged violent blows, it quickly became clear that Thanatos held the advantage.
He attacked relentlessly, without pause.
Frey, meanwhile, was forced onto the defensive .. unable to turn the tide.
"I truly don’t understand," Thanatos roared angrily as he advanced toward Frey, dark blue flames blazing across his body.
"What made you believe you had a chance against me?"
"Did you think I couldn’t defeat you simply because I lack the Death Soul?"
"Don’t make me laugh!"
Thanatos slammed his foot into the ground, shattering the earth beneath him as an immense aura erupted outward.
"If you want to challenge me, you should at least bring someone at the level of a High Demon of the First Rank!"
Thanatos’ voice thundered through the battlefield.
Behind the Nameless Mask, Frey narrowed his eyes.
"A First Rank High Demon... like Crimson?"
"I think you’re overestimating yourself."
"You’re nothing without your armies."
Frey said coldly as he pushed the Power of Souls to its absolute limit .. compensating for the overwhelming difference in aura between them.
"In this pathetic state of yours... without your armies and without the Death Soul..."
"You’re nothing more than a fraud that anyone could defeat."
Frey intended to provoke him.
But Thanatos only responded with a terrifying laugh.
"You’re right."
"I do need to rebuild my army."
Taking a combat stance—
Like a missile about to launch and obliterate its target—
Thanatos roared.
"And you will be the first general of that new army!"
Thanatos shot forward like a roaring blue beam.
Frey did the same ... surrounding himself with the maximum output of the Black Hole Aura and the Power of Souls.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The two collided violently.
Their clashing auras erupted into a thunderous struggle that shook the entire battlefield.
Thanatos attacked with his fists reinforced by aura ... wild, brutal, and completely unrestrained.
Frey countered with his sword—Dark Sister—deflecting every strike his opponent threw at him.
The Eyes of the Void revealed every trajectory of Thanatos’ attacks.
Because of that, defending against them became possible ... no matter how fast they were.
From time to time, Frey even launched counterattacks, managing to inflict wounds upon his opponent.
But despite every injury he dealt...
Thanatos did not slow down.
Instead—
His speed began increasing at a terrifying rate.
"You do not understand!"
With a sudden, explosive punch, Thanatos sent Frey flying ... even though Frey had blocked it with his sword.
The momentum behind the strike was simply overwhelming.
Thanatos leapt after him immediately, pursuing like a mad beast.
"There’s no point in wounding me—or attacking me at all!" he roared.
"My body will not die, and it will never tire! It will only grow stronger every time you strike it!"
BOOOOOOM!!
Thanatos’ fist smashed into the ground where Frey had been standing, detonating the earth and unleashing a volcanic eruption of dark blue flames.
Frey escaped using teleportation, vanishing from the blast ...
But Thanatos locked onto him instantly.
"You’ve already thrown yourself into your own destruction."
"There is no escape."
A horrifying grin stretched across Thanatos’ face, from ear to ear.
Then, with a simple motion of his hand, he poured an enormous surge of aura into the ground.
At that moment—
A catastrophe unfolded.
Frey’s eyes widened at what he saw.
Thanatos’ aura surged beneath the earth of Belgrade.
No ...
Far beyond Belgrade.
Then, at his command, the blue flames erupted from below.
The entire region was annihilated.
Frey now looked like nothing more than a tiny speck—
A small blot of black within an endless ocean of fire.
Flames rose violently, threatening to pierce the heavens themselves.
"Let me see how you escape now!!!"
Thanatos’ terrifying roar echoed across the battlefield.
Frey shifted his stance midair.
Amid fire and devastation ...
He unleashed a devastating strike that illuminated the world with a deep violet aura.
"Frey Starlight Style: Nameless Judgement!!"
SLASH!!
With a colossal vertical strike, gathering the Power of Souls and the absolute limit of his output, Frey split the entire sea of blue fire in two.
The attack crashed into Thanatos.
Thanatos crossed his arms to block it—
But the force of the blow was so immense that both of his fists were completely destroyed.
He regenerated them instantly.
Then narrowed his eyes at Frey.